Today's Edition
LONDON (PA Media/dpa)
Strong winds and heavy rain were causing further disruption as Storm Amy hit large parts of the United Kingdom on Saturday.
Much of the country was covered by weather alerts, with wind gusts reaching nearly 160 kilometres per hour (km/h) on Friday night.
The Met Office said the highest recorded gust on Friday was at Tiree in the Hebrides at 154 km/h, while a provisional October wind gust record for Northern Ireland was set as 148 km/h winds were measured at Magilligan in Co Londonderry.
The north of Scotland was covered by an amber warning for wind until 9 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday with yellow warnings covering the whole of Scotland, the north of England and north Wales until the end of the day. A further yellow warning for wind runs until 7 pm in the rest of England and Wales.
Further yellow warnings for rain are in place in northern and western Scotland until midnight and in Northern Ireland until noon.
Traffic Scotland reported a lengthy list of road closures due to the adverse weather conditions.
ScotRail anticipated that some disruption to services would extend into Saturday, and possibly Sunday, while Network Rail carries out safety checks for obstructions on the line and damage to any infrastructure. National Rail warned of possible disruptions throughout the UK on Saturday.
All services via Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street were suspended on Friday night and are not expected to operate until at least lunchtime on Saturday.
Network Rail Scotland route director Ross Moran said more than 60 incidents of flooding, fallen trees and debris on the tracks were reported across the network in the first two hours of the storm.
"Storm Amy has hit parts of the country much harder and more quickly than expected," he said.
Avanti West Coast train company warned of "short-notice changes" on Saturday and "strongly recommended" customers making journeys north of Preston to check for updates before travelling.
CalMac Ferries said it expected many services to be disrupted on Saturday, with several routes cancelled, and this disruption was expected to continue into Sunday.
Belfast International Airport said it was expecting delays on Saturday and advised passengers to check with airlines.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 30 flood warnings in place on Saturday, with the Environment Agency issuing six in the north of England and one in northern Wales from Natural Resources Wales.
On Friday, a man in his 40s died in a weather-related incident in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Ireland, gardai said.
Around 234,000 properties were left without power across the island of Ireland on Friday as the storm brought widespread disruption.
The Republic of Ireland's forecasting agency issued its highest-level wind warning in Co Donegal on Friday, where residents were advised to shelter in place between 4 pm and 6 pm.
The Met Office stated that wind and rain were expected to ease throughout the evening for most of the country. Still, severe gales are forecast to continue in north-eastern Scotland, with a yellow warning for wind in place from midnight until 9 am on Sunday, covering the Orkney and Shetland Islands, Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Moray.
Sunday is expected to turn dry and less windy, with sunny spells for most areas, but outbreaks of rain are developing in the northwest.
